The new $20 bill.... I don't get it....

Peaceman

I went to the bank today and the federal government has a phamplet out that describes the new $20 bill. In it, they indicate that they will slowly phase out the old currency. They will also take old notes once turned into a bank and dispose of them but indicated that they will take them indefinately (giving the public no date at which they will need to be turned in by). The government also has indicated that they will introduce new currency every 7-10 years as well.

So... how does this help the counterfiet problem? I still see the old $ 20's still circulating... this would be the one I'd keep counterfieting if I was doing it.....

tjkillian

Just as folks are reluctant to take Morgan silver dollars as money, so will the old $20 bills. Fewer and fewer of them will exist until the average person will be reluctant to take them. Basically if forces the counterfeiters to update their equipment, which will be harder and harder to do.

Tom

kranky

It quickly becomes very inconvenient for counterfeiters. Before very long, they have to make the fakes look like they are old and worn since new notes with the old design would be a dead giveaway. Also, they can't use them in quantity because that would also attract attention - a whole batch of $20s but none with the new design.

Keyrock

Once they start getting pulled from circulation the population of old notes in circulation will decrease and the scrutiny will increase. Quite honestly, I haven't received a old style 20, 50 or 100 in the last year. Merchants will be depositing them in the bank, banks dump them to the FRB and they are destroyed, replaced with new bills.

hookooekoo

Peaceman,

I used to think the same thing back when the new $100 bills were introduced some years back.

But later, I realized this truth:
population of old notes in circulation will decrease and the scrutiny will increase

Peaceman

I agree to an extent but counterfiting an old $ 100 bill and making it look old I think would be much easier than trying to keep up with the government's newer issues. Think about it... you could pass a few thousand dollars a month in old bills FOREVER because the government won't "retire" the old ones. Sure they are outdated, heck, make them look REALLY worn and they'd be even MORE easy to pass because people would think that it was really used a lot.....

My point here is... the government wants to limit counterfiting.... I don't think they are doing it the right way....